Leader of kidnapping cell in Mexico arrested

TIJUANA  A man described as the leader of a criminal cell that routinely kidnapped, raped and tortured Mexicans attempting to cross to the United States was arrested Sept. 1 in Mexico, authorities said.

Serafin Medina-Angel was arrested by Mexican officials at his home in Tijuana on Sunday, Sept. 1, said Mary Beth Caston with the U.S. Border Patrol. He was charged in a state court in Tijuana on Sept.5 with three counts of kidnapping, authorities said.

The arrest follows a rescue operation in May when Mexican and U.S. agencies, including Border Patrol’s Foreign Operating Branch, saved three Mexican citizens from Medina-Angel’s operating base.

Authorities believe Medina-Angel and his accomplices regularly kidnapped Mexican nationals trying to cross into the United States and then tortured and raped their hostages while awaiting ransom, said Caston.